Stephen Colbert and Philosophy - Aaron Allen Schiller [97]
When it comes to a silly, inflated, know-it-all knowledge, it is ironically proper to go along, to be enraptured by all this wisdom, to spur it on with jubilating applause to ever greater lunacy, although the ironist is aware that the whole thing underneath is empty and void of substance. Over against an insipid and inept enthusiasm, it is ironically proper to outdo this with scandalous praise and plaudits, although the ironist is himself aware that this enthusiasm is the most ludicrous thing in the world.169
Ludicrous enthusiasm is an apt way to describe a crucial component of Colbert’s shtick. This phrase calls to mind Colbert’s interview with feminist and social critic, Naomi Wolf, who appeared on The Colbert Report to discuss her book, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot.170 Wolf’s book offers a sobering analysis of the fascist bent of our ever expanding executive branch. When she attempted to share her perspective with Colbert, however, his knee-jerk “refutation” consisted of his boisterously leading the audience in a “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” chant.171 But the briefly bemused Wolf comfortably stood her ground. She knows the drill. In an unscripted moment, Colbert had managed to capture the essence of years of frustrating (lack of) dialogue in our culture about freedom, tyranny, terrorism, and true patriotism. He also had offered a vivid illustration of one of Wolf’s major concerns.
Ironic Inquisition
Especially during interviews with liberals or progressives, such as Wolf or Huffington, Colbert frequently pushes back tenaciously with cartoonish right-wing talking points. In addition to entertaining us, his goal, as he once remarked to Senator John Kerry in a behind-the-scenes glimpse, is to be disabused of his ignorance or, to put it more aptly, neutered.172 Sometimes not a little barking occurs before Colbert’s balls are clipped. Occasionally, when the Republican Rottweiler encounters a person who is determined to treat all animals ethically, he barks all the way through the interview, until he gelds himself.
Presumably, most people who watch The Colbert Report are “in the know.” We’re aware that Colbert simultaneously occupies both an earnest, defender-of-the-American faith persona within the space of the interview and also a zone of ironic distance outside of it, to which he repeatedly calls our attention with hilarious effect. So we’re not watching to see a heretic cross-examined and burned at the stake. Rather, we’re in on the irony of the inquisition and that is part of the fun of watching the fake interrogation unfold.
What may not be as obvious is that when Colbert veers blindly to the right, he subtly creates more space for opposing views to be sympathetically articulated in a comical give and take. He also deftly undermines the ground on which he ironically stands.
Consider, for instance, Colbert’s recent interview with Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign, which is a gun control lobbying group.173 Colbert began the segment by casting gun control advocates like Helmke as anti-American hypocrites—they hate guns, but they “have no problem blasting holes in the Constitution.” Then he mentioned the Brady Bill, which established background checks and a five day waiting period for the purchase of handguns. Many consider this bill a model piece of legislation, but not Colbert, of course. In his view, it “takes away all the spontaneity of hunting” because “by the time you go through all the red tape and get your gun, that deer will have untangled itself from your swing set.”
The image of shooting a deer stuck in a swing set, like a good stage prop, offers a sneaky cue as to who the real cowards are. In the context of the interview, it was a harbinger of things to come, but not just yet. Colbert proceeded to challenge Helmke to defend the Brady Campaign. When